


Spring Fever

by MaryBeth



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-19
Updated: 2020-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:13:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23219068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaryBeth/pseuds/MaryBeth
Summary: Set three months before Season 3 on a snowy March weekend. You should read “Things Left Unsaid” before you read this one as it’s a sequel of sorts.
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper & Jim "Chief" Hopper, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Jonathan Byers/Nancy Wheeler, Joyce Byers/Jim "Chief" Hopper
Comments: 5
Kudos: 33





	Spring Fever

“It’s not fair,” El whined, slumping on the couch and crossing her arms over her chest.

“El, that’s enough, we talked about this last night,” Hopper warned from the kitchen table, where he was having a third cup of coffee, reading the paper and steadfastly trying to ignore the heavy sighs, sulky glances out the window and general crankiness of his teenage daughter.

El knew the weatherman had been calling for a major winter storm, despite the fact it was the middle of March and spring should be arriving any day. It certainly wasn’t Hopper’s fault there was a raging blizzard going on that had essentially grounded everyone, but he was certainly bearing the brunt of her frustration that Mike couldn’t come over last night and that the normal Saturday get together with all the kids at the cabin had been cancelled. It simply wasn’t safe for anyone to be out in a snowstorm of this magnitude.

There had been hardly any snow this winter until the past few weeks. In January Hopper and El had settled into a new routine. There was no point even trying during December with all the kids out for Christmas holidays. Now Hopper dropped El off at Joyce’s on Wednesdays, then the kids came by after school. When Hopper came to pick El up he usually stayed for dinner or took leftovers home if he was late. Nancy, Steve and Jonathon had all volunteered to tutor El in various subjects. Hopper offered to pay them but they all insisted on doing it for nothing.

Jonathon and Nancy usually came together on Tuesdays and Thursdays and covered English, American History, Math and Science. Jonathon was a great cook, much better than Joyce, so sometimes threw in a cooking lesson and dinner would be ready when Hopper got home. Nancy also covered “girly” things like hairstyles, nail polish, clothes and God knows what else. Steve came on Mondays for Geography and Geology that somehow morphed to cover popular movies, music and celebrity gossip. He insisted that El should know about social culture to make it easier to fit in when she went to school, which was hard to argue with. Hopper was growing to love all these teens more and more. The tenderness, patience and interest that they showed El was nothing short of astonishing as far as he was concerned. Since Steve’s dad showed no interest in him, Lonnie was AWOL, and Ted Wheeler behaved like he was in a walking coma most of the time, Hopper had become a secondary father figure to all the teens. And most of the other kids too, for that matter. But he didn’t mind. In fact, he had grown to like it - even though he would never admit it to anyone but himself. He may have lost one child, but he had inadvertently gained nine in the last three months.

Saturday afternoons the six younger kids and sometimes the three teens ended up trekking to the cabin. It was a safe place where they didn’t need to worry about anyone overhearing references to the strange experiences they shared. The traumatic experiences that had bonded them like a family. Let’s face it, the words Demogorgon, demodog and mind flayer didn’t come up in everyday normal conversations at the dinner table. Hopper and Joyce had, over the past few months, become the unofficial parents of this enormous, slightly dysfunctional, chaotic, sometimes annoying but mostly entertaining family. El had been a little frosty with Max at first but whatever the issue was they seemed to have worked it out.

On Saturdays the kids all usually spent some time outside, always within sight of the cabin until the safe area was slowly expanded. Board and card games or movies filled out the rest of the time. After a few weeks Hopper started leaving them alone to go pick up chicken, burgers or pizza (and Joyce!) for dinner. He needed to let El know he trusted her and this was one small gesture he was willing to make.

Hopper wasn’t so generous with his trust when it came to Mike on his solo visits. Since Valentine’s Day Mike had started coming over alone Friday nights so he and El could have some “quality time” to themselves without the ‘party’ around. That’s when the three inch rule immediately came into effect. What Hopper had assumed had been a young teen infatuation had quickly blossomed into a full blown first love for both of them. At times it was sweet and other times – okay most times - it was scary. But Mike was so good with El, always gentle and careful with his explanations, able to instinctively know when she was confused without her having to ask. Hopper supposed there were a lot of worse options out there, but he couldn’t help but worry things were moving way too fast. Too fast for him anyway.

Hopper’s only stipulation had been that Sundays were a ‘stay at home, no visitor’ day. It didn’t always work out that way if someone had a birthday or Hopper got called in for an emergency at work. But he needed at least one day to spend with El alone or he was afraid they would completely disconnect. She was getting older, at the age when hanging around with a parent was considered an unpleasant waste of time. He wanted to hold on to her childhood for just a little longer but it was getting harder as the weeks passed. Whenever she wasn’t physically with her friends she was always talking to them on that infernal walkie talkie, even right after they had already spent several hours together.

_What the hell could they possibly still have to talk about?_

***

Over the last few months El had also been testing his authority, seeing how far she could push the limits. As a result Hopper had needed to discipline her on two occasions. He assumed since their history together was fairly short that she was fitting ten years of normal childhood challenges into a few months. He also knew it was a natural part of growing up – hell he had done the same to his parents – so that helped him manage his temper much better so the discussions didn’t escalate into major fights. Or flying dictionaries. Or broken windows.

The first time El had simply refused to clean her room for no apparent reason. He warned her in the morning and when it was still a mess when he got home he sent her to bed right after dinner with no tv or walkie talkie. She appeared an hour later with an apology and pulled him up off the couch to drag him to her door to prove she had indeed finally cleaned her room. It seemed like a calm but firm approach was working.

The second time was a Tuesday in late January when Hopper had forgotten his wallet and circled back at lunch time to pick it up. He did the secret knock once, twice. Then he called for El, assuming she was in the bathroom or napping. He tried a third time. When there was still no response he became frantic, wondering if she had choked on food, or badly cut herself and was bleeding out. Then he fretted that someone had broken in and taken her, so decided to check the cabin for smashed windows or other signs of a break in. He had gone full circle and was back near the front of the cabin when he spotted her walking through the woods.

He stood there watching her, half relieved and half furious. He forced himself to breathe deeply in order to control his anger before confronting her. Rule number one had always been no going out alone in the daytime, so watching her blatantly disregard this rule made his blood boil. When El got close to the cabin Hopper made his presence known by walking towards her.

When El spotted him she startled at first, raising a hand, and then froze. Unlike the last time, when she had snuck off to see Mike at the school, she waited until Hopper reached her and immediately said, “I’m sorry.”

This caught Hopper off guard. He expected her to be combative, not apologetic. He knew he still wasn’t sufficiently calmed down to have a reasonable discussion, so pointed towards the porch. “Unlock the door and wait at the kitchen table for me. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

El nodded and did as she was told, knowing how upset he already was, quickly running up the steps while flicking her head to open the locks. Hopper lit a cigarette with shaking hands and took a couple of deep puffs. So many horrible things had run through his mind when he didn’t know if she was safe that he had worked himself into a near panic. He should be thankful that she was okay, but right now he was just so damn angry that she had left the house. Alone. He finished the cigarette, dropped the butt and ground it into the dirt with more ferocity than was necessary.

Hopper walked up the steps, entered the cabin and slowly approached the kitchen table where El was seated in her chair, hands folded on the table, awaiting her fate. She watched him like a hawk. He wanted her to know how worried he had been and he also wanted to understand the reason she broke the rule, so he sat down opposite her and asked, “Do you have any idea how worried I was when you didn’t answer the door? I thought you were hurt or had been taken. Why did you go out alone?”

El looked down at her hands, then back up. She was obviously trying to choose her words carefully. “Need outside,” she finally answered.

“I take you out when I get home,” Hopper reminded her, confused. He was very cognizant that she hadn’t been out of doors for eleven years and always made sure she got some fresh air every day. Even if it was pouring rain they at least sat out on the porch.

“It’s dark and cold when you get home. Need sunshine,” she explained.

Ah, okay – that made more sense. The days were very short this time of year and she was right, it was usually dark by the time he got home. But they still bundled up and went out for a short walk unless she didn’t feel up to it. It had been unseasonably mild and sunny the last week, melting what little snow had been on the ground. Then a thought occurred to him “How many times have you been out?”

El’s eyes grew wide. She’d obviously been hoping he wouldn’t ask that particular question.

“And friends don’t lie,” he reminded her sternly.

She looked at him guiltily. “Five.”

Hopper inhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. Jesus what was he going to do with this kid? She was looking at him expectantly. While he was still mad he could at least understand why she felt the need to go out during the day. He needed to walk a fine line here. How can you take sunshine away from a kid and not feel like a complete monster?

“Why didn’t you talk to me about this?” he asked.

El looked like she was giving it considerable thought. “Because… because I thought you would say no. I think.”

Hopper raised his eyebrows at her. “You think?” It was mildly amusing that she admitted something that every kid did but would never actually say out loud.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I think so.”

He sighed. At least she was being honest. But that didn’t excuse what she had done.

“You know that you broke our number one ‘don’t be stupid rule’, yeah?”

“Yes,” she admitted quietly.

“So you understand that I need to punish you?”

She stared at him with sad, huge brown eyes that could melt a glacier, so he continued quickly before he changed his mind.

“You’re grounded for a week. That means tomorrow you won’t be going to Joyce’s and no visitors this weekend. But your tutors will still be coming.” The regret on El’s face was obvious. She and Joyce had been thoroughly enjoying spending Wednesdays together, so Joyce would be disappointed as well. He would explain it to her in the morning on the way to work. “Is that clear?”

She nodded. “Yes, clear.”

He reached across the table for her hands. “And I’ll ask Nancy, Jonathon and Steve if they’ll spend the first twenty minutes of their lesson time outside,” he added. Most other days were already covered as far as getting outside during daylight hours. “Sunshine is just as important as math, right?”

El smiled and moved around the table. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, burying her head into his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Yeah, me too kiddo.”

***

El let the curtain fall and turned to look at Hopper with disgust on her face. “It’s _still_ snowing.”

“Believe it or not I’m as disappointed as you are. You’re a real pain in the butt when your friends aren’t here,” Hopper teased.

El rolled her eyes at him.

“This would be a good opportunity to get your homework done,” he suggested, not even looking up from the sports section.

“It’s already done.” She had learned the hard way that it was in her best interest to have it finished before the weekend.

“Do you want me to quiz you for your geology test Monday? Or go over your math questions?” Hopper offered. Even though she was being tutored he still remained as active as possible in her studies. He was just grateful he didn’t have to do it alone anymore.

El picked up the atlas and brought it over to the kitchen table. She opened it to an earmarked page and laid it on top of his newspaper. She pointed to a country on the other side of the world and looked at him.

Hopper sighed. “You want to talk about Vietnam?”

Steve had started to review Asian geography and Nancy was covering the Vietnam War as part of American History. The word had seemed familiar but it had taken El a few days to remember that she had seen it printed on a box in the crawlspace.

“You were here,” she said, more a statement than a question, tapping the country in the atlas with her finger.

“Yeah, I was, a long time ago.” In fact it seemed like a lifetime ago. He never dreamed he’d experience horrors even worse than Vietnam in his own supposedly safe little hometown, but at least now he could put his war experience into perspective in a way he hadn’t been able to before.

“A soldier?” El asked. “Fighting?”

“Yeah, I enlisted in the army straight out of high school, spent eight weeks in basic training and then was shipped overseas. I was eighteen.” 

“Scary.”

He remembered running through overgrown jungles with no idea where enemy fire was coming from or if there were land mines in his path, praying he and the rest of his patrol could get through another day unscathed. He ruffled her growing hair, almost down to her shoulders and losing a little of the curl.

“Yeah, kiddo, it was scary at times.” 

But then he remembered the camaraderie with his platoon, how proud he was to serve his country, learning who he was and what he was truly capable of, and that he wanted to continue a career along the same path. The path that led him to becoming a cop in New York, running into Diane in a little café in Soho and having Sara. All these things were interconnected and he was thankful for them.

“But there were good things too,” Hopper told her. “There’s always a balance.”

“Nancy said a lot of men died there. Or came back… broken.” El looked sad, worried and scared all at the same time.

Hopper had seen his share of buddies die or be maimed for life. He had been incredibly fortunate to get through his tour physically unharmed. Mentally was another story. He had suffered nightmares and extreme reactions to loud noises for months after returning to the States. He still suffered the rare flashback. But all in all, he had been one of the very lucky ones.

“Don’t worry kiddo, I’m fine,” he reassured her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She snuggled a little closer into his side.

“Do you have any other questions about it?” he asked her.

“Not now,” she answered, closing the atlas. He took that to mean she would want to talk more about it later. He would need to pull out the box and review what was in it before showing it to her – make sure to remove the picture of him with that pretty little thing from the local village who had consoled him on many a night. He definitely did not want to have _that_ particular conversation with his daughter. 

“Ok then, do you want to play a game? Or watch a movie?” She had been begging off playing games in the evening lately, in favor of talking to her friends on the walkie talkie. He was pretty sure she was about to do the same now. He knew it was a normal part of growing up, but he missed the days when she wanted to do things with him.

“Scrabble?” she asked.

He smiled at her, surprised. “Sure, I’ll clear off the table and you go get the board.”

***

The snow finally stopped an hour later, just as they were finishing their game. El’s walkie talkie crackled to life and she looked at Hopper.

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead and talk to Mike,” he conceded. “I’ll put the game away.”

El raced off to her room but returned a minute later, holding out the walkie talkie. “It’s for you.”

“Me?”

She nodded and handed it to him. He pressed down the button. “Hopper here. Over.”

“Hey Hop,” Joyces’s voice came out of the device. “You two okay over there?” Then silence.

“Mom you’re supposed to say over when you’re done,” Will’s voice could be heard in the background. El and Hopper exchanged a smile.

“Over,” Joyce said obediently.

“Yeah, fine, you? Over.”

“All good. Listen since today was cancelled everyone was wondering if you and El could come over to my place tomorrow so the kids could go tobogganing.”

“Mom!” Will said again.

“Oh right, over,” she said with a heavy sigh.

Hopper had a full on grin now. “I don’t know if El wants to come, she really likes to spend Sundays with me.” El shook her head forcefully and hand signaled she wanted to go.

“Come on Hop – she’d love it - ”

“Mom you have to wait till he says over.” Will reminded her.

“Oh Jesus,” she said, exasperated with the walkie talkie rules. “You should seriously think about installing a telephone like the rest of the planet. Look I know you’re just teasing her. You had today alone together. Be here at one o’clock and we can do pizza after. OVER.”

El was emphatically nodding her head. “Yeah, we’ll be there. Thanks Joyce. Over.”

“Can I let Mike know I’m coming?” El’s excitement was obvious.

Hopper handed her back the walkie talkie. “Sure, but make it quick cause we’re going to shovel out the Suburban before dark or it’ll freeze and we won’t be able to go anywhere tomorrow.

El retreated to her room, shut the door and signaled for Mike.

“Hi El. I missed you today. How are you? Over,” he answered, sounding out of breath.

“I missed you too. I’m good, are you okay? Over,” she replied.

“Yeah, just spent an hour shoveling the driveway. We’re all going tobogganing near Will’s tomorrow. Do you think Hopper will let you come? Over,” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, we’re coming. But I have a question. Over.”

“Go ahead. Over.”

“What’s tobogganing?”

***

The tobogganing hill was just outside the ever expanding secure area, almost half a mile south of Joyce’s. But the kids could pass through the woods and stay out of sight so Hopper agreed to enlarge the safe zone one more time. While Dr. Owens had suggested laying low for a year it hadn’t taken long to determine that was going to be almost impossible. Hopper didn’t have the heart and El didn’t have the patience for another lengthy confinement period. And with her love of the outdoors, once the weather got warmer he knew it would be even harder to contain her freedom. He planned to get her a bike so she could travel with the other kids more easily. He figured that hiding in plain sight with a group of other kids practically rendered her invisible. Just another teen hanging out with friends that no one paid any attention to, as long as she didn’t do anything stupid. And she better not do anything stupid.

“Be back by five o’clock,” Hopper told the crowd of kids putting on their hats and mitts at the Byers front door. Max and Lucas hurried out with a wave. The teens had escaped to a movie in town but would be back before six. He had given them money to bring back pizza.

El pulled on a blue woolen hat with ear flaps that reminded Hopper of the hunting hat she was wearing when he found her. “Okay, five,” she confirmed with a smile on her way out the door. She loved new experiences and had never been sledding before. Mike had explained it all to her yesterday. It sounded amazing.

“Yes, Chief!” Dustin said with a hearty salute, making Will shake his head.

“Don’t worry we’ll take good care of her, and we’ll be back by five,” Mike confirmed. He knew even one minute late would put him in the doghouse. Hopper was strict when it came to El following the rules.

Max was already throwing snowballs at Lucas in the front yard as the rest of the kids poured out of the house. “Be careful,” Joyce called after them before shutting the door to stop the cold air from flooding in. She turned to Hopper. “Is that your old sled El is pulling?”

“Yeah, dug it out of the shed – had no idea it was in there until this morning,” he replied. “Do you remember crashing into that tree at the bottom of Sanderson’s hill when we were … what?... nine?”

Joyce sat on the couch and pulled up the left leg of her jeans. “Of course I do, I have this lovely scar as a permanent reminder.”

Hopper sat beside her, reaching out to gently trace the two inch scar under her knee. “How many stitches was it?”

“Seven, and I cursed you for every single one of them,” she teased.

Hopper put his other hand over his heart, as if he’d been grievously injured. “That hurts Joyce. Besides it was your own fault for insisting on sitting in the front. You had no steering skills whatsoever.”

Joyce shrugged her shoulders and grinned. “Yeah, maybe.” She pulled her jeans back in place and they sat awkwardly for a moment.

He wasn’t sure if now was the right time to bring up the subject, but they rarely had a moment alone together so decided to ask. “So,” he started, “you said to get back to you in a few months to see how you were feeling.”

Joyce knew perfectly well he was referring to their conversation the morning after the gate was closed, when they had a lovely quiet moment alone together. He had made it perfectly clear he was interested in her, as if she didn’t already know, but they were both aware it was too soon after the loss of Bob. It had been over three months, but she still wasn’t ready. Some days she wasn’t sure if she would ever feel ready. She didn’t want to risk their friendship and she had a terrible feeling she would lose him too. She had also been starting to consider moving out of Hawkins. She was convinced this place was cursed and hoped a fresh start might help her and her boys to heal and move on. The only thing stopping her was leaving this extended little family, including Hopper, that they had built over the past several months. She wasn’t ready to strike out on her own. She depended on him for so much – adult companionship, help with the kids, a shoulder to cry on. She honestly didn’t know what she was going to do.

For now she just shook her head sadly.

“I understand,” Hopper said. And he did. “No rush.” He was just happy to be seeing her on a regular basis in any capacity. If she wanted to remain just friends that would have to do for now. “No rush at all. Ok?”

“Yeah, okay. How about a beer?” Joyce asked, getting up and heading for the kitchen. The subject was obviously closed.

Hopper got up and followed her. “Sounds good. And then I’ll take a look at that leaky faucet in the bathroom for you. I’ve got my tools in the truck.”

***

El didn’t know what was better, the feel of flying down the hill or having Mike’s arms wrapped around her waist as he sat behind her on the wooden sled. They were on their fifth run and she couldn’t get enough. Of either of them. Being around Mike was intoxicating. The same girl who was previously cursing the heavens for all the snow was now eternally grateful for it.

Lucas and Max flew past them, red hair flying into Lucas’s face. Dustin and Will, each on a red saucer, were already waiting for them at the bottom of the hill. After a few minutes everyone came to a stop, laughing and rolling off their sleds onto the snow.

“Hey El, do you want to learn how to make a snow angel?” Will asked.

“A… an angel?” El asked.

“Angels are people who have died and gone to heaven,” Mike explained.

“Here, watch,” Will continued, finding a clean patch of snow and dropping onto his back. He moved his arms up and down and his legs in and out. “Help me up,” he asked Dustin, sitting up and holding out a hand.

Dustin pulled him up and El looked at the imprint in the snow.

“Angels are normally drawn with long white robes with big wide sleeves, so that’s why it’s called a snow angel,” Mike told her.

“Oh,” El smiled, finally understanding. “Let’s make one too!” she said, before dropping to the ground. Ten minutes later there were dozens of snow angels in the field.

“Wanna sled again?” Lucas asked.

“Can I try your saucer this time?” El asked Dustin.

“Sure but I’m not riding with Mike hugging me the way he was hugging you,” he teased.

After several more runs, with everyone trying everyone else’s toboggans and riding with various partners or alone, Mike checked his watch. “Jesus it’s getting late, we better leave now or we’re not going to make it by five,” he warned.

“Calm down,” Max retorted.

“You haven’t seen Hopper pissed before, and believe me you don’t want to.”

“Better go,” El agreed. She had purposefully pissed him off once by not cleaning her room, just to see what would happen. She wouldn’t be doing that again.

“Well I’m ready for some hot chocolate anyway,” Max decided.

Mike held El’s hand and pulled the sled as they walked through the woods back to the Byers. “How did you like your first tobogganing experience?”

El beamed at him. “It was amazing. Can we do it again?”

“I’m afraid the snow will be gone by next weekend and we likely won’t be getting anymore. I wish we had gotten snow earlier this year, we could have done it sooner.”

“That’s okay, we can do it next year,” El said.

Mike cheered up at her words – knowing that she was thinking about them still being together next year. He couldn’t imagine living one moment without El in his life. Last year - when he didn’t know whether she was dead or alive - was the longest, most miserable time of his life. He tried to stay strong, but the longer El was gone the harder it got. He never gave up on her, but was starting to give up on himself. Being reunited had rejuvenated him back to his old self.

He squeezed her hand. “Next year for sure.”

***

Nancy and Jonathon were waiting for their pizza in the tiny lobby of the store when Steve walked in.

“Hey guys, what’s up? Steve asked, smiling at them.

“Just picking up dinner for the gang. You?” Nancy answered.

“Yeah, yeah, picking up dinner too, but just for me, my folks are out of town again,” he answered, trying not to sound pathetic.

“Come back to our place then,” Jonathon offered immediately. “Everyone would love to see you. Dustin and El will be there.” Jonathon and Nancy often compared tutoring notes with Steve, so knew he’d be happy to see El.

Steve would never admit how lonely it was growing up as an only child in a home where your parents barely acknowledged your existence. But many times he was lonely. He had unexpectedly found a new, very weird but wonderful family in the likes of Hopper, Joyce, El and the other kids. He adored Joyce, who was a great listener and always willing to provide some much needed advice. He often stopped in at her store just to talk. And Hopper definitely had a grouchy side, but he was the genuine article. He wished his dad was half as loving towards him as Hopper was with El. He often hung around to eat dinner with them on Mondays and never ceased to be amazed at how the two of them had managed to build such a close and loving relationship so quickly. And that curly headed little goofball Dustin was like the little brother he had always wanted. He had even gotten over any remaining awkwardness with Nancy and Jonathon. The thought of eating another meal alone in his great big house made this an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“I’d love to, thanks.”

***

“Stop looking at your watch,” Joyce ordered, as she pulled mugs for hot chocolate out of the cupboard in preparation for the soon descending crowd.

Hopper couldn’t help it. It was almost five and no sign of the kids. He had fixed the leaky sink, unstuck a bedroom window that wasn’t fully closing and oiled a couple of squeaky doors in the last few hours. All the while Joyce would hand him the tools he asked for while they reminisced about their younger days. Now he was having a second beer, sitting at the kitchen table and checking his watch every two minutes.

“Here they come,” Joyce told him, looking out the kitchen window. “Right on time, I might add.”

Hopper got up and came to the window in time to see the kids trudging up the driveway dragging their assorted sleds. A moment later they all burst through the door, all talking at once and peeling off their outerwear.

Hopper wandered in and caught El’s eye. “So did you have fun?”

“Yes,” she answered, smiling. Her cheeks were bright pink. “And we made snow angels.”

***

Six kids in a small house can be chaotic and this crew was no exception. Snow pants and coats littered the front of the living room. The hats and mitts had been tossed in the dryer because they were, for the most part, soaking wet. They had all trooped into the kitchen, sitting at the table. Joyce quickly made six cups of hot chocolate, placing them on the table before retrieving a bag of mini marshmallows.

“Thanks mom,” Will said.

“Thank you,” everyone added, reaching for the marshmallows.

“Pizza should be here soon, I’m guessing you’re all hungry after all that fresh air,” she said.

“Starving,” Dustin said, with Lucas and Max nodding their agreement.

Hopper leaned against the counter with his beer, watching El carefully place eleven marshmallows in her hot chocolate. It was always eleven, never more or less. Some days when he watched her interact with her friends he regretted hiding her for so long, even though he knew it was for her own safety. This is what being a kid was about – hanging out with friends, spending time outdoors, playing games, drinking hot chocolate together. El didn’t talk much – how could she possibly get a word in anyway with all those chatterboxes – but he could tell she was absorbing everything they said like a sponge. He couldn’t help but smile at the six young teens surrounding Joyce’s table. He was immensely glad it had been Mike, Lucas and Dustin who had found her in the pouring rain that night or things could have turned out much differently.

“Hop can you get the paper plates down from the cabinet please?” Joyce interrupted his thoughts.

He easily opened the cupboard over the fridge, which Joyce needed a step stool to reach, and handed her down a package. Then he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Shall we retreat to the peace and quiet of the living room?”

***

Twenty minutes later the peace and quiet of the living room disappeared when the hot chocolate was finished and the kids invaded. They took whatever seats were available or sat on the floor, surrounding the adults. El tucked herself onto the couch beside Hopper and naturally Mike was glued to her side. Dustin and Lucas were arguing over whether to watch a movie or play charades when Steve, Nancy and Jonathon stepped through the door.

“Steve!” several of the kids yelled, clearly happy and surprised to see him.

Steve was holding a couple of pizza boxes and waved to the room in general. “Are you joining us for dinner?” Dustin asked hopefully.

“No I’m just delivering because Nancy couldn’t carry all the boxes,” he teased. “Of course I’m staying, if that’s okay?” he asked, looking Joyce’s way.

“Of course it’s alright – you’re always welcome,” she answered, getting off the couch to give him a hug. Then to Nancy and Jonathon she said, “How was the movie?”

“Really good,” Jonathon answered. Nancy nodded in agreement.

“What did you see?” Lucas asked.

“Witness, with Harrison Ford.”

“Oh I’d like to see that!” Max said.

“It’s rated R, so I don’t think that will be happening,” Steve informed her.

“R?” Joyce questioned, looking at Jonathon.

“For violence mom,” he said blushing. The other kids stifled giggles. “Pizza will be in the kitchen for anyone who’s hungry,” he called, making a quick exit.

***

An hour later the pizza was devoured and the last game of Charades was underway. Despite all their protests Hopper and Joyce had been enlisted to play, and it was Hopper’s turn to pick a card. His team, consisting of Mike, Steve, Nancy, Will and El, was cheering him on. Since there were eleven people El was their extra player as she didn’t know too many books, movies or famous people.

“Come on Chief, if we get this one we win,” Steve coaxed, flashing a look of victory at Dustin.

Hopper picked up the card and read “High Noon” – a classic western he and El had watched a few weeks ago. She had been pretty quiet throughout the game, hardly daring to make a guess, but this one was right up her alley.

“Ok are you ready?” Joyce asked.

“Yup,” he replied, rubbing his hands together.

“Go!” yelled Max.

Hopper made the movie sign.

“It’s a movie,” Mike and Steve yelled.

Hopper nodded before holding up two fingers.

“Two words,” Nancy called. 

Again, Hopper nodded. He left the two fingers up. “Second word,” Will said.

Hopper tapped his wrist where a watch would normally be.

“Time!” “Watch!” “Wrist!” several people yelled.

Then Hopper, feeling a little ridiculous, put both arms straight up, like hands on a clock.

“Hands up!” Steve yelled.

Hopper shook his head, trying not to laugh, pointing to his wrist and then putting his arms up again, but this time moving them like clock arms. He could almost see the light bulb going off in Wheeler’s head. “Midnight!” Mike yelled.

Hopper shook his head but did what he hoped was a “come on, you’re close” gesture.

“Noon!” Nancy shouted.

Hopper clapped his hands and pointed at her. Then he looked straight at El and did a quick draw motion like a cowboy.

“High Noon?” El almost whispered.

Hopper nodded and pointed, a huge grin on his face.

“What did she say?” Will asked.

“High Noon, I think,” Nancy answered. El nodded.

“High Noon!” Mike repeated, louder.

“Hah we win!” Steve yelled, high fiving his teammates.

“Yes, I knew you’d get it,” Hopper said, picking El up and swinging her around. “Way to go kid.”

Everyone else watched this rare display of unbridled joy and affection initiated by Hopper. He was always quick with a pat on the back, a quick hug or an arm squeeze, but this was unprecedented. El was laughing and hugging him back, overjoyed to have something to contribute for a change. He set her down and kissed the top of her head before she fell back on the couch, grinning from ear to ear.

Hopper glanced at Joyce and she silently mouthed “adorable” at him. He rolled his eyes back.

“Good game guys,” Dustin said, shaking Steve’s hand. “But we’ll get you next time.”

“Which won’t be tonight cause there’s school tomorrow,” Joyce said. “It’s time to wrap up this party and call it a night.”

“I’d be happy to drive everyone home, save Jonathon a trip,” Steve offered.

Jonathon and Nancy exchanged a glance. “Sure, thanks, I’ll stay and help clean up,” Jonathon agreed.

“Okay you monkeys, grab your gear and meet me outside – I’ll go warm up the car,” Steve said, putting on his coat. “Bye everyone, thanks Joyce. El, I’ll see you tomorrow. Ready for your geology quiz?”

El had almost forgot about it. She hadn’t looked at her books in two days. “I will be by tomorrow afternoon, I promise,” she replied.

“Okay, night all.”

“We should get a move on too,” Hopper said to El. “Joyce thanks – this was a good day.”

“Yeah, it was,” she answered, watching as the rest of the kids sorted through hats, coats and mitts while Jonathon pulled Nancy into the kitchen for a private goodbye. She loved all of them almost like they were her own.

“Hurry and we can have a minute alone outside,” Mike whispered to El.

The two of them rushed into their coats and said goodbye, El giving Joyce a hug and thanking her. “I’ll meet you outside,” she told Hopper.

He knew exactly what she and Mike were up to but decided not to give them any grief about it. “Yeah, I’ll be right out.”

Everyone else finished dressing, said their farewells and scooted out the door, leaving Hopper and Joyce alone.

“Thanks for all the handyman chores today,” Joyce said.

“No problem, glad to do it. I guess I’ll see you Wednesday when I drop El off.”

“Yeah, for sure. See you then.”

Hopper kissed her forehead before leaving. “Night Joyce.”

She loved it when he did that. “Night Hop.”

***

The temperature had dropped so Hopper could see his breath. He watched the kids piling into the back seat of Steve’s car, leaving the front for Nancy and Mike. Mike and El stood on the far side of the truck, kissing. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it and waited on the porch. He heard the door open again and felt Nancy standing beside him. She spotted Mike and El right away.

“They are kind of sweet together,” she said. “I know they’re young but he really loves her, you know.”

He really liked Nancy. Despite the shortfalls of the Wheelers they had raised two great kids. Hopper looked down at her. “Yeah, yeah I know.” But it was time to break up this make out session. “Goodnight Nancy.”

“Goodnight,” she echoed as they stepped off the porch.

“Drive careful,” Hopper called to Steve as he walked towards the truck. He received a quick wave in return.

El and Mike broke apart and came back around to the passenger side of the truck when they heard Hopper’s voice. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you Wednesday,” Mike told her.

“Wednesday,” El said, breathless. He always made her feel that way. Mike opened the door of the Suburban and she climbed in.

“Night Chief,” Mike said as Hopper approached.

“Night Mike.”

Nancy and Mike slid into the front seat of Steve’s car and it moved out of the driveway. Hopper climbed into the truck, turned the key and backed out.

“So you had a good day?” he asked.

“A great day,” she confirmed. “I changed my mind, I like snow.”

“You do, do you?”

“Yes, it’s fun.”

“Yeah, it can be, but that’s probably the last of it for this winter. Spring is right around the corner.”

“More sun?” she asked.

He glanced over at her. “Yeah, the days are getting longer and soon it will be getting warmer too. And there’s something else special about the spring.”

El had no idea what he was talking about. “What?”

“Your birthday,” he replied. “The birth certificate Dr. Owens got for you says May 7th, so that’s when we’re going to celebrate.”

“Celebrate my birthday?” This had never happened in her entire life. She didn’t know what a birthday was until Hopper had shown her the birth certificate. And then they had celebrated Max’s birthday in February.

“Yup, we sure are. Why don’t we start planning it? How does that sound?”

El smiled at him before yawning. “Yes.”

“You got a lot of exercise and fresh air today, didn’t you?”

El nodded, yawning again. He had a feeling she was going to crash as soon as her head hit the pillow. But he was wrong, she fell asleep in the truck, leaning on the window. When he pulled to a stop he stared at her. She always looked so angelic when she slept, like most kids. He reached over and brushed a curl off her forehead. She took a deep breath but kept on sleeping. As he watched her, he remembered the first time he ever saw her - standing in the back of that bus in the junkyard with the boys. If anyone had told him that day that she would end up being his daughter, the one who saved his life and pulled him up out of the sorry existence he was living, he wouldn’t have believed it. He would be forever grateful they had found each other. Despite the challenges – and he knew there would be plenty more – he wouldn’t trade this for anything. He couldn’t imagine living without her.

The cold was starting to seep into the truck. He put his hand on her shoulder. “Hey kiddo, time to wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and it took a few seconds to remember where she was. “Home?”

“Yeah kid, we’re home.”


End file.
